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I realize I may be in the minority here but I simply didn’t hate the last couple seasons of Heroes like so many of my very vocal nerdy contemporaries. Sure, I have a few criticisms here and there (ok, so I did kinda want to hit Claire’s season 2 boyfriend in the face with a hammer) but overall I still think it’s an incredibly fun show with endless potential.

That being said, like everyone else, I too hope this season is able to reclaim the spark of the first and college lesbian experimentation and super-powered circus freaks are as good a place to start as any!

Heroes season 4 will commence with a 2 hour premiere Monday, September 21!

Part 1 of 5 of a 1980’s exposé of the of the clandestine group The DHARMA Initative.

Having read my fair share of conspiracy research you can imagine my eyes opened wide upon viewing this latest viral clip from the producers of Lost. It’s not a sign of paranoia when you think the TV is giving you secret messages is it?

We got our first glimpses of 2 of the 4 planned Warren Ellis scripted Marvel Anime series this weekend, Iron Man and Wolverine! While I am stoked as hell for anything that mad bastard Ellis does, I’ve got mixed feelings about what I’ve seen here and judging by general buzz of my geeky brethren around the internet I am far from alone.

First off, I thought Iron Man looked incredible and seemed especially well suited (no pun intended) for the anime treatment. The detail of the armor is fantastic and the action looks powerfully kinetic!

Wolverine however leaves me feeling a bit wary. They went for a very uncharacteristic thin and lanky look, very gaunt face with a ridiculous anime mullet. In fact, aside from the claws there is absolutely nothing in his design that indicates that this is Wolverine. Now it is important to keep in mind that these are meant to be Japanese re-imaginings of the characters so they do have a bit more creative leeway. Hopefully Mr. Ellis will deliver a story bad ass enough (which he says will be loosely based on Claremont/Miller miniseries) to make us forget how friggin’ weird he looks.

The nerd news networks have been all a’buzz ever since Gary Oldman seemed to let the bat out of the bag during his appearance at the San Diego Comic Con panel for The Book of Eli. Oldman reportedly stated that they were planning to shoot next year, adding “ but you didn’t hear it from me” and then later followed up with “I’ve been a rather naughty boy today”.

So if you ask me, that all seems to spell out that Nolan is back on board people! I seriously doubt they would be making any definite plans were he not. Over at Batman On Film they pointed out that The Dark Knight was officially announced the week following Comic Con in July of 2006 so could we be looking at an official announcement next week?

Of course we are all foaming at the mouth to find out who the next villain(s) will be. Most assume Catwoman and The Riddler to be at the top of the list. (and when Johnny Depp says he would gladly don the question mark, how do you turn that down??). While the Riddler may just seem like the next obvious choice in the Rogues Gallery, he is also perhaps the perfect Chris Nolan villain. With he and his screenwriter bother having made names for themselves delivering films with twisting, turning, labyrinthian plots (Memento, The Prestige), I’m confident they could turn out one hell of a mind bending puzzle worthy of The Riddler!

Dr. Hugo Strange (clearly a bastion of mental health)

Also since the Nolan brothers are so adept at juggling multiple villains I would personally love to see the lesser known Hugo Strange thrown into the mix. In the Legends of the Dark Knight story arc “Prey” (which is possibly the most disturbing Batman story I read as a child) he was a psychologist hired to use his analytical skills to determine Batman’s identity so the police could bring him to justice. However, being quite demented, he chooses to keep the information to himself and plays twisted mind games with Bruce Wayne, pushing him to the brink of insanity. A story perfectly suited to Batman’s outlaw status post ‘Dark Knight’ and one that could be easily intertwined with The Riddler.

Whatever the choices of villain it’s safe to say that this is the most anticipated comic book film of all time and if Nolan is indeed blessing us with his talents once again, he has earned the absolute faith of legions of Batfans everywhere.

While I admittedly have my concerns about how well Ms. Johansson will be able to pull off a convincing Russian accent I certainly had no worries as to her ability to fill out out a black leather cat-suit!

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Adding more flesh and blood to the new movie, Scarlett Johansson joined the cast as Stark’s mysterious new assistant, Natasha, who has an alter ego of her own, Black Widow. That introduction inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. “The men want it to be, like, ‘Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,’ but it’s not as standard as that,” says Paltrow. “There’s a weird male catfight fantasy. Downey agrees. He believes what differentiates the franchise from other superhero series can be summarized as follows: “We’re horny. Not, like, can’t-bring-your-kids horny, but just…horny.”

Yes, I’m sure it will be a very sophisticated and dignified catfight Ms. Paltrow.

Read more of what the cast had to say here, including why Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash likes to get drunk and talk to a cockatoo.